Andrew BushWoman waiting to proceed south at Sunset and Highland boulevards, Los Angeles, at approximately 11:59 a.m. one day in February 1997. Undated.
Color photograph.
Courtesy Julie Saul Gallery, New York and Yossi Milo Gallery, New York

Car Culture: Art and the Automobile explores artistic response to the automobile, which has transformed life in the 20th century more significantly than any other single factor, irrevocably changing the appearance of our environment and our experience of it. While some artists focus on images of the car itself, inspired by its alluring modernity or its status as an icon or expression of personal identity, others create art work from car parts such as scrap metal and tires. Later artists comment on the automobile’s ubiquitous presence in the landscape, seen in the roadside environment, the phenomenon of the road trip, and ultimately the damage caused to our environment. The photographers, painters, and sculptors included in this exhibition examine an aspect of our lives that is usually taken for granted.

Funding provided in part by Suffolk County. Car Culture: Art and the Automobile is made possible by The Shoreland Foundation. Additional exhibition support is provided by Mercedes-Benz of Huntington, Pien and Hans Bosch, and through leadership gifts to Museum’s August Heckscher Society.